Maldives police said a Saudi Arabian forensics team will assist the investigation into the “explosion” aboard the presidential speedboat while President Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom was returning to Male from the airport earlier Monday. While Gayoom was not hurt, his wife, Fathimath Ibrahim, and an aide sustained minor injuries. According to sources, it has been found out that ISIS could be behind the explosion.
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More than 200 Maldivians have traveled to Syria to fight for the ISIS.
Maldives, a popular tourist destination, was a center of controversy after Yameen came to power in a hotly contested presidential election in 2013.
Yameen had landed at the worldwide airport from Saudi Arabia after completing the Hajj pilgrimage and was on his way to Male to be greeted by government officials and journalists when his speed boat caught fire.
The leader he defeated, Mohamed Nasheed, was jailed this year for terrorism in a case that has drawn global criticism.
Nasheed’s global lawyer Amal Clooney has warned she will press for sanctions against the Maldives unless he is released.
Presidential spokesperson Ibrahim Muaz Ali confirmed that the president was unharmed.
Mohamed Hussain Shareef, minister at the president’s office, told Reuters by telephone that they did not know if the explosion was from explosives or the inboard engine.
Media sources report that President Gayoom left the hospital by late afternoon on Monday, while his wife stayed at the hospital dealing with a back injury.
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The Maldives has launched an investigation into the incident and is seeking help from the United States and Australia to determine what happened.
